My favourite cocktail in a cupcake, what could be better than that?!
lime
Chocolate Avocado Muffins with Lime
I have a confession to make, up until a few months ago I thought I didn’t like avocado. It’s kind of mushy and I thought it was bland and I was like no thank you, ma’am. Then I had some guacamole and I was like “hey this is super yummy!” and my love affair with avocado started there. And for a while now I’ve wanted to bake with it, it’s also been a long time since I’ve made muffins so these chocolate avocado muffins happened this week! I added lime to the mix because I love to slather my avocado with lots of lime.
These muffins are packed full of chocolate and have avocado instead of butter, I love the texture that gives them. They’re super moist and have lots of chocolate chips to keep you satisfied. They’re also filled with home made lime curd, giving them an extra tangy zest and really make them stand out from your regular chocolate muffins
I’ve always had trouble getting good muffin tops, they always come out pretty flat. And while they taste good they don’t have that great muffin look and the chewy muffin top! After trying a few different techniques I finally got myself some good muffin tops! They’re puffy, spilling over and just the right amount of chewiness! To finally achieve my muffin milestone, I filled the cups to the top and then baked them at a higher temperature for the first 10 minutes, then lowered it for the remaining baking time and voila, perfect muffins!
I love these muffins a lot, so I am bringing them along to Fiesta Friday 19 – Hope everybody enjoys them. Along with Angie, this week’s FF is being co-hosted by Sue and Prudy. So break out your party hats, it’s gonna be a fun one!
[recipe title=”Chocolate Avocado Muffins with Lime” servings=”12″]
Ingredients
For the Lime Curd
- 1/3 cup caster sugar
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 egg, beaten
For the Muffins
- 2 3/4 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large, ripe avocado
- 1 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup plain natural yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 tbsp lime zest
Method
- For the lime curd, put the sugar, butter, lime juice and lime zest in the top of a double boiler on a high heat until the butter is melted. Mix a tbsp of the lime mix into the egg and whisk. Reduce the heat until the water is lightly simmering, add the egg mixture to the lime mixture and whisk. Cook over the low heat until curd is thickened – about 20 minutes. Leave to cool while you make the muffins.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/425F and line a muffin tray with paper cups
- Whisk together the flour, oats, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a blender, process the avocado, milk and yogurt until smooth. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the eggs.
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry, making sure it is all fully combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and lime zest.
- Fill the muffin cups half way with muffin batter, then add a tsp of lime zest and top up with more muffin batter. Fill the muffin liners up full.
- Bake in the oven at 220C/424F for 10 minutes. The reduce the heat to 190C/375F and bake for 10 more minutes, until skewer comes out clean
- Cool on a wire rack
Notes
- Store in an airtight container for 3 days
- Great served warm!
- Don’t tell weirdos who think avocado in muffins is gross, they won’t notice!
[/recipe]
Mojito Cookies
A fresh, zesty cocktail in cookie form!
Greetings from Atlanta! I arrived here on Thursday and almost got sent home again, immigration weren’t very happy with me! Don’t worry, I wasn’t doing anything illegal they’re just a bit unhappy with how much time I spend in the states considering I live in the UK. It’s all good though, we came to an agreement though so I can keep on coming here. The reason I come here so often and that is my best friend lives out here. Honestly, best friend is not a strong enough word! She is my other half, my soul mate and being so far apart from her is torture. But I am so grateful I get to spend the summer with her.
Hanging out at Buckingham Palace last year 🙂 I’m on left, Leah on the right
So I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little late to Fiesta Friday 17, I was busy catching up. And by catching up I mean watch Captain America, The Avengers and Th Winter Soldier! But better late than never, right? And these cookies are sure to make up for it!
The mojito cookies are soft, yummy and full of such fresh flavours! The lime zest and fresh mint really pack a punch with the white rum. Just like the cocktail, the flavours work so well together and these cookies have the added sweetness!
These would be great for a summer party or BBQ, served with cocktails of course. But I actually made these for a good friend of mine as a late birthday present, she loves Mojitos so it was only natural that I made something for her with that in mind! She loved them so they were a success!
In theory, you could probably make these with mint extract. But you’d really be doing them a disservice if you don’t use fresh mint, the fresh kick really is what makes them so great!
I hope you all enjoy these cookies as much as my friend did! As always, a big thank you to Angie for hosting Fiesta Friday, and go check out Selma, Jhuls and Alex as they are co-hosting this week! Have a great weekend everybody!
[recipe title=”Mojito Cookies” servings=”18-24″]
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 170g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 350g caster sugar, plus extra for rolling cookies in
- Zest of two limes
- 2 egg yolks
- 120ml sour cream
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp white rum
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
- 375g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the glaze
- 50ml white rum
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 tsp lime juice
Method
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed. Add the lime zest, lime juice, rum, mint and egg yolks and combine. Beat in sour cream until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to stir and aerate. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and combine on a low speed until al mixed in.
- Put some caster sugar in a bowl. Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out balls of cookie dough and roll them in the sugar. Place on baking sheet with at least 2 inches space between each one. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least an hour
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until they are slightly golden and set.
- Combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and brush over warm cookies with pastry brush. Leave cookies to cool on wire rack.
[/recipe]
Watching Marvel movies last night 🙂
Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bars
Strawberries. Lime. Tequila. Cheesecake. Perfect!
Cinco De Mayo is almost upon us and what better way to enjoy your celebratory margarita than in cheesecake form! I’m a huge fan of tequila, put it in a cocktail and I’ll be sure to love it, nothing beats a good frozen margarita though. Good margaritas are hard to find in the UK so I decided to make my own and put it in a cheesecake!
These are so creamy, so tasty and so good you’ll never want to drink a margarita again (but you definitely should, preferably while eating one of these bars!). They have a digestive biscuit crust with a hint of lime in it, a creamy lime and tequila cheesecake filling and a strawberry tequila mix swirled into it!
The best part about this strawberry margarita cheesecake bars recipe is they’re so simple to make, much easier than a whole cheesecake and you don’t have to worry about any cracking. The hardest part is probably making up the fresh strawberry mix, which is really quite simple it just takes the longest. You bake them for about 45 minutes until puffy and lightly browned at the edges, you don’t want to over bake this! Actually, the hardest part is probably waiting for them to chill and then stopping yourself eating up the whole pan (I won’t judge you if you do, ’tis the season!).
Why not make up a batch of these this weekend and then take them into work on Monday. Your coworkers will love you and you’ll get to enjoy a cheeky margarita during the work day! Of course, if you live in the UK you’ll just have to eat them all up yourself (shame) since Monday is a bank holiday! These aren’t just great for Cinco De Mayo, they’re a great summery dessert all round!
[recipe title=”Strawberry Margarita Cheesecake Bars”]
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 300g digestive biscuits
- 180g unsalted butter, melted
- 135g caster sugar
- 1/2 tbsp grated lime zest
For the strawberry mix:
- 450g fresh strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp tequila
For the cheesecake filling:
- 900g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 100g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp tequila
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tbsp grated lime zest
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a 13×9″ brownie pan with foil so there’s plenty of foil overhang.
- Make the strawberry mix first so it has plenty of time to cool. Toss the chopped strawberries in the cornflour and then place in a small saucepan. Add the tequila and sugar and heat on medium, stirring frequently. Heat for about 20 minutes. The juice in the strawberries should make enough liquid, but if it starts to get dry and stick to the pan too much add 1 or 2 tbsp of water. Remove from heat and leave to cool.
- To make the crust, put the digestives in a food processor and make into fine crumbs. Add to a bowl with the melted butter, sugar and lime zest and stir to combine. Press crust mix into the pan, bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and leave to cool.
- To make the cheesecake filling, beat all the filling ingredients using a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Spoon the filling onto the cooled crust and spread out evenly.
- Spoon big dollops of the cooled strawberry mix on top of the filling and then swirl into the cheesecake using a knife.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned
- Cool in the pan on wire rack for about 30 minutes then move to the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.
- Remove the cheesecake from the pan using the foil and cut into squares.
Notes
- If you’re in the US and can’t get your hands on digestives, graham crackers will be just as good
- If you’d like to make a smaller pan, just halve the recipe and use a 9×9″ square pan
- You’ll probably have plenty of strawberry mix left over, store this in a tupperware to eat with the cheesecake or it’d be great on ice cream!
- Store in the fridge, covered for up to 5 days
[/recipe]
Margarita Cupcakes
My favourite cocktail in a cupcake!
If you know only one thing about me, let it be that I love tequila. I don’t drink it by itself anymore (I’ll leave that to my university days), but put in a cocktail and I’m there! Margaritas are my favourite, especially if they’re frozen. Living in the UK though I am horribly deprived of good margaritas, so I just stock up on them when I’m visiting Atlanta! Luckily, I have these yummy cupcakes to keep me happy while I’m at home!
This recipe is not my own, I found it on the wonderful Sweet Revelations. I changed a few things around (like more tequila!), but at it’s core they’re the same. I didn’t use any lime curd and chose to garnish with a sugar, salt and lime mix. I also made mine full sized instead of mini (it makes about 14 full sized cupcakes)
I loved these cupcakes so much I made them my banner image!
These cupcakes are flavoured with lime and tequila and topped with a lime and tequila swiss meringue buttercream. These cupcakes were the first time I had ever made SMBC and I was terrified, but it turned out perfect first try (what a great ego boost!) so if you’re feeling hesitant just go for it! I even made mine without a stand mixer (I wouldn’t recommend that though, it’s harsh on the arm muscles).
Let’s get down to the important part shall we
Lime and Tequila Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs,
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- tequila (for brushing)
Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners
Mix together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together on a medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one and at a time and beat until fully combined. Add the lime zest and juice and mix well.
On a low speed, add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Mix until just incorporated.
Spoon until cake cases, about 2/3 full. Bake for approx 18 mins, until cakes are spongey and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn out on to wire rack to cool. Generously brush tequila over the cakes while they’re still warm. If you want the tequila to get right down in there, poke a few holes with a toothpick before brushing. Leave to cool completely.
Lime & Tequila Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter cubed, at room temperature
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp tequila (or to taste)
- 1.5 tbsp lime juice
Grab a saucepan that is large enough to fit your mixing bowl in a few inches, fill it with a few inches of water and bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
In your clean mixing bowl (you’ll want to use the same bowl throughout the process) hand whisk the egg whites and sugar until just combined. Place over the simmering pot and whisk for about 4-5 minutes until the egg whites are hot (150F), the sugar should all be dissolved by then too. Place the bowl back on your stand mixer and using the whisk attachment whisk on medium until the whites have increased in volume and and the outside of the bowl is slightly warm to touch. Be patient because this can take 10 minutes!
Change to the paddle attachment (if you don’t have a stand mixer the beaters on your hand mixer will work fine, it’s what i used my first time making it). Beat on a low speed until the mixture is completely cooled. Increase speed to medium and add butter pieces one at a time. Scrape down the side of the bowl and continue to beat the buttercream until it is smooth and glossy. Don’t worry if the mixture starts to separate, just keep beating and it’ll come back together! Add vanilla, tequila, a pinch of salt and lime and beat until just combined. Pipe onto cupcakes immediately.
Lime, Sugar and Salt Garnish
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lime zest
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, sprinkle on top of freshly iced cupcakes! Finish it off with lime slices and peel!
ooh look at those meringues in the background, watch this space for cupcakes involving those!
Related articles
- Margarita Cupcakes (homefresh.wordpress.com)
- Margarita Cupcakes for National Tequila Day 🙂 (lopvilleliving.wordpress.com)
- Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes (stylemepretty.com)